The Yoginis of Ancient India, Fit Yoga

The attendants of warrior goddess Durga helped her conquer the ever-multiplyingdemons… and today they have a message for women everywhere.

By Jalaja Bonheim

The day I stepped into India’s heat, colors, sounds and smells, I instantly felt a sense of profound homecoming. It was 1981 and even though I had come to learn classical Indian temple dance, I would spend the next 7 years of my life studying Hindu mythology and religion, mantra and chant, Tantric ritual, and meditation.

Although many westerners think of Tantra primarily as a sexual practice, it is in fact a demanding spiritual path that includes meditation, yoga, dance and elaborate circle rituals that evoke the ecstatic experience with the devine in and through the physical body.